Why the Perry class set the frigate baseline

The Oliver Hazard Perry class combined affordable construction with useful anti-submarine capability across 51 US Navy ships. It was a deliberately utilitarian escort, and stronger individual ships existed in each major warfare role. Cruisers, destroyers, and carriers supplied the protection that allowed a focused frigate to contribute in high-threat operations. Independent patrols suited lower-threat areas, while more dangerous deployments depended on support from the wider force. The alternative proposed here is to keep the production line running and update the escort flight by flight. Ending that line left a gap in both ASW capacity and fleet numbers.